01x01 - An Eye for an Eye

[bunniefuu]

[Children squealing]

Hey, Rachel, you almost ready to go?

As soon as Alan gets here, we're leaving.

Don't hate me. I slept like crap.

I've got a bowling ball strapped to my belly.

I'm sorry.

It's okay. Don't apologize.

I really wanted to go. I got an Elvira wig and everything.

I know. Next Halloween, okay?

My boobs won't be this big next Halloween.

Ellie, how about I stay home, too, then?

Alan can go to the party by himself.

Five minutes through the gate, he'll make 10 new friends, you know that.

No. You guys go and have fun.

I'm just gonna stick around here, make some popcorn, find a scary movie to watch, and go to bed.

Are you sure about that, little lady?

Positive.

Yeah?

Lose the scarf. You look like Liberace.

No, I don't. I look cool.

[Doorbell rings]

Hey, hon? Alan's here.

We'll have a beer here first, and then we'll go, okay?

Ellie: Sounds good!

I thought you were going trick-or-treating as King Arthur and his Band of Merry Men.

Oh, wait, no, that's Robin Hood, right?

Anyway, man... Rachel is bailing.

This last trimester's k*lling her.

I can't remember, was the last trimester like that for Suzie?

Tired all the time, not sleeping?

Hey, Alan, you wanna take that stupid mask off now?

Okay, man, have a seat. I'll grab us a beer.

[Doorbell rings twice]

Here.

Hand these out for me?

No?

[Candy hitting floor]

Thanks for your help, buddy.

Happy Halloween!

[Ominous music]

So? What do you think?

Pretty good, huh?

Oh, and you should see Suzie's "Guinevere".

I fell in love with her all over again.

Hey, check it out.

How cute is that?

Does this kid look like a tiny, little Merlin or what?

Alan, what the hell is going on here?

Who's that?

I thought that was you.

[Screaming]

Please, please, please, no...

Ah...

Aahhh!

Alan: Help! Help!

No!

Help! Help! Please!

[Screaming behind door]

[Baby crying]

Radio Evangelist: Brothers and sisters, you ought to be doing some thinking about where you're going when you leave this world.

Are you prepared?

Because you better be. Because hell is there.

Hell is there, and hell is real.

What you do in this world determines the next.

Take God into your heart right...

Okay!

That's enough of that.

Can we listen to anything else, please?

What if he's right?

What if what's right?

You know, we live our lives...

Try to be good, do the right thing, and, at the end of the day, none of it matters.

Do you want to turn back?

Did I say I wanted...?

Because you're more important to me than some house, Sarah.

Free house.

We could sell the free house.

We could buy a condo in the city.

Or move out to the suburbs if we have to, I mean...

Oh, you're jok... Oh, Sarah, you cannot do that!

You cannot spit out some weird existential bullshit, and make me feel stupid for what I worry about you.

You don't need to worry about me.

Really.

Okay?

Your parents were m*rder*d in the house we're about to move into.

My parents are photographs, stories told by strangers.

It's just a house.

Nothing more.

What do you think?

Oh, it's... kinda perfect.

Shall we?

What... What happened here before...

It doesn't matter.

The only thing that matters is what we put into this place.

You and me.

And I know I'm being maudlin and sentimental, so...

It is very cute.

You're very cute when you're sentimental...

There are decent people...

Jesus... who live in this neighborhood!

Children!

You have a whole house! Pick a room!

Are you serious?

Wow.

Is she serious?

Wow... Welcome to the neighborhood.

If she wants a show, we will give her a show.

[Laughter] Mmm-mhhh...

Yes! A-ha!

Okay. Don't do that!

I'm going into the house!

Put me down!

[Laughter]

[Key turning]

That was so weird. Don't know what her problem was.

Yeah, well, she looks like she has a lot of problems...

None of which are ours.

Wow.

You okay?

Yeah.

Yes.

Let's just go and explore the rest of the house.

Yeah.

Babe, there's a lot of rooms. Which one do we choose?

I guess whichever one feels right.

Listen.

Yeah.

I think it's okay.

Mmm...

You promised work you'd swing by.

I'll make up a good excuse. We have squatters in our basement.

Mennonites stole our furniture.

No, you can't call in sick on your first day.

Technically tomorrow is my first day.

I wanted to explore the town.

Yeah?

Maybe drop in and say hi to Cam.

Okay, you can take the car.

How are you gonna get to work?

I'll bike.

You hear that?

I can bike to work. It's amazing.

It was the right decision, coming here.

Yeah, we did good.

Yeah. We did.

[Mumbles]

Mrs. Peterson?

Mrs. Peterson, are you okay?

What?

Hi.

Have you seen her?

Who's that now?

Ariel.

Do you know that she wants to be a vet when she grows up?

She just loved animals, ever since she was a little kid.

She always has.

Yeah.

Have you seen her? My daughter?

Where is she?

God! Don't! Don't touch me! Stay away from me!

Can I just give you this? Would you just take this, please?

Fine. Fine.

It's okay. It's okay, everyone.

Sarah.

Welcome home.

Wow.

So the house was okay? Everything's in order?

Oh, yeah. We need to hit, like, six furniture stores, but...

Well, there's some of your parents' old stuff in the basement.

I'm thinking a lot of wicker and a microwave the size of a VW bug.

That's probably accurate.

Hey, have you stopped by the gallery yet?

Robin and Justin, they've done a lot of work on the place.

Well, yeah, you know, looking around here, just what this town needs, another gallery.

It's better than another B&B.

I don't know... "Stay at the m*rder House.

It's 20% off, if you survive the first night."

You'd probably make a k*lling.

Oooh!

No.

That's a little much, huh?

Yeah, it's too soon.

So, um... Cam, I've got to ask you something, and I don't think you're gonna like it.

What?

I want to go see Tom Winston.

Why?

You know, I... kind of always ignored what happened to my parents and me.

I... pretended it didn't matter, that it happened to someone else.

Pushed it away... Look where that got me.

You fell apart.

Yeah, that's an understatement.

Look, you've given that psychopath everything he wants.

Attention, validation...

No, I'm just... I'm tired of running.

If I can... you know... get past it, then I can move on.

You know, that's the theory, anyway.

Sarah Bennett!

Don't worry. I don't want your autograph.

On anything other than your lease.

Sarah, this is Robin. And this is Justin.

Your new landlords.

Oh, wow... I thought Robin was a...

You thought Robin was a she and not a he?

Yeah.

So did my Mom the first three years we were together.

This is actually my favorite corner in the whole town.

And here you are, the keys to your future.

I'm sorry, I have to say this.

You just look so much more normal than I thought you would.

Robin.

What?

I'm just saying what everyone else in this town is just too polite to say out loud.

But I'm not polite, and moving into the same house your parents were m*rder*d in is cuckoo-crazy.

I am so, so sorry.

You know what, it's fine.

It's nothing compared to this morning.

There was this woman across the road...

Ah!

Verna McBride.

Verna McBride, I hate her.

Some tenants have had issues with her in the past.

Issues? Great.

She's just a lonely old lady. She's completely harmless.

Ah... anyway, I should get outta here.

And don't forget about tomorrow night.

Yeah, June would never let them.

You should come. Shouldn't she, Justin?

Absolutely.

I wouldn't want to put you guys out, or anything, you know?

We'll just have our chef order a couple more steaks.

All right... Boys.

Good to see you.

Sarah, if you need anything, just call.

Thanks.

Bye.

Enchanté.

Over here is our ad sales department.

And when I say "department", what I really mean is a woman who works part-time named Eileen.

Copy that.

You must be thinking, "Jesus, she wasn't joking. This paper really is that small."

Listen, I was a freelancer. Now I'm editor-in-chief.

I'm not complaining.

Good.

I'll admit... Part of me was worried.

What about?

That you'd look down your nose at us.

Alison, you kidding me?

You started your own newspaper from the ground up.

This is... uh... it's very impressive.

Yeah. Yeah, I did.

That's pretty much it.

Unless there's anything you want to ask me.

Yeah, I think I have one question.

Is my wife typically front-page news?

The murders are big around here. I get it.

But it happened almost 30 years ago.

Mmhh...

A husband and wife were slaughtered in their house.

The wife is nine months' pregnant, and the baby is cut from the womb.

Now that same baby, all grown-up, is back in her old house.

I don't know what they taught you in J-School, but that... is a story.

Murders happen every day, but not here, never like those.

So what else happens around here?

Town fairs. Ice-fishing in the winter.

Fender-bender, if we're lucky.

A day or two from now, things will go back to normal.

They always do.

Right. Normal.

Mrs. McBride?

Hi. I'm Sarah. Your new neighbor?

Can I offer you a lift?

I'm fine. Thank you.

Really, it's no problem. We're headed in the same direction.

Just because we're neighbors doesn't mean we're gonna be friends.

Have I done something, Mrs. McBride?

Because you're acting kind of hostile.

The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree, does it?

What does that mean?

Your mom was a dirty slut, and God struck her down.

And by the looks of it, so are you.

Alison really wants to meet you.

She's very excited, so I told her we'll do dinner.

Yeah, is this the same Alison that put my picture all over the front page of The Bulletin?

Mm-hnh.

You go.

I'm gonna hang with the fun party-throwing gays I met today.

Okay. Is this right?

No.

Well, you do it, then!

That's not gonna help.

See, and I don't want to be a mansplaining chauvinist pig...

No, go crazy. Mansplain away.

Yeah.

You leave me no choice.

Okay. See, here's your problem, young lady.

You put the HDMI cord in the wrong place. It goes here.

And when we get a gaming system, we're gonna need to get a second HDMI cord, and you're gonna have to change the input from HDMI1 to HDMI2 every time...

Babe, who cares about her? She's a crazy old bitch.

No, no, no, she hates me. Okay? I can feel it.

Mrs. McBride is a big bully and a big perv.

Probably hasn't been laid since VCRs were invented.

And if she doesn't like you, who gives a sh*t?

Well, I do. Obviously.

It's just... she's yet another person who knew my parents who, you know, felt that she was the spawn of Satan, you know?

Which makes me the spawn of the spawn of Satan!

Just forget about it.

Yeah.

Okay.

Do you think there's anything on The Bulletin servers?

Like file pictures...

Or anything from that night that I haven't seen...

Might shed some light on what actually happened?

Let's find out.

Yeah?

Wait, wait... Go back.

You sure you want to see this?

Just play it.

I am the Lord's messenger, and I come to tell the truth.

I warned them. They wouldn't listen to me.

That Judas Iscariot. And his whore! Of Babylon!

Opening her legs to every man, woman and...

Yeah. Come on.

I didn't say...

Yeah. Let's go for a walk.

You know, actually... I just want to go on my own.

Sarah, I can...

I'm fine.

Just want to decompress, okay?

[Street fireworks]

[Footsteps]

You're not funny, you know? You're just sick!

Ah...

Ah!

There was a guy, and he was following me...

He had a hood on, and he was holding...

Dylan? Dylan, wait!

[Pipes scraping]

It was just some jerk, trying to scare me.

Exactly. Trying to scare you. Who the hell does that?

What are you gonna do, b*at him up?

Think you're funny, huh?

Yo, man, calm down.

You scare the sh*t outta my wife, and you want me to calm down, is that it?

Keep your hands off me. I didn't do nothing to you wife!

Don't bullshit me, you little twerp!

Dylan. Just leave it.

Come on, all right, it wasn't him. Let's just go home.

Yeah, Dylan.

You guys get the hell off my street, or I'm calling the cops.

You understand? Get out!

Come on.

Before Dylan starts to cry.

Dylan...

No, no, it's good. You go.

He's crazy.

Make sure these punks do as they're told.

We can take him. It's four on one.

Let it go, Malcolm, the guy's psycho.

It's getting late, anyways, and tomorrow's our biology exam.

Come on.

You go home. You study.

Pussies.

Whoo!

f*cking Waterbury!

sh*t!

What the hell was that, man? Are you king of the gimps?

Hey, sh*t-for-brains, that's mine.

Hand it over.

[Gate buzzing]

I've seen your picture in the paper.

But seeing you here, in front of me, I...

You need to stop smiling.

Better?

You're probably wondering why I'm here.

I know your reasons are what you think your reasons were for k*lling my parents.

Okay.

Now I want you to know what my life's been like without them.

There's been a void, filled with grief and guilt and sadness.

I grew up without parents because of you.

I don't know who I am, because of you.

Why do you feel the need to tell me about your life?

Excuse me?

Not that I'm not interested.

I've kept tabs on you over the years, best I could.

What do you think you're doing?

I'm trying to understand what you hope to achieve by visiting me.

Catharsis? Is that it?

Jesus, I shouldn't have come here.

Forget it!

Confront your demons! Dimestore pop psychology.

But I'm afraid, it's not that cut and dry.

You wanna put the past behind you, Sarah?

I can help you with that.

It's not an intellectual exercise.

You can't fix yourself with your mind.

You have to immerse yourself in the past, Sarah.

All of it.

Find out what was going on in your parents' lives 30 years ago.

Find what was buried in that house.

No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it in a cellar, so that those who enter may "see the light".

We're done here.

[Soundtrack to sex tape]

Oh, yeah, Brian. Do you like this?

Oh, my God!

It's Dylan, right?

Jesus...

That's right!

I'm Verna. Verna McBride. I live across the road.

I know. Can I help you?

I saw your wife leave about an hour ago.

She was very upset.

Did she say where she was going?

I didn't ask her.

But I thought I should let you know, just in case...

A man ought to keep a tight leash on his wife, Mr. Bennett!

Word to the wise!

[Laughter]

No, trust me, I told him.

If he gets that car, he has to get me a pool.

We have an entire lake, 50 feet from the backyard.

Yeah, but it's cold, and there's a lot of fish in it, and I'm gentle.

[Doorbell rings]

I just don't get why you need a car with 600 horses.

Exactly, Corey.

Guys, I don't need it. I want it.

Hey!

She made it.

Sarah!

Hey, hi, welcome home.

It's really good to see you.

I was telling someone just the other day about your wedding.

They want to keep it small, and I said you should totally talk to our friend Sarah.

She had the cutest little ceremony...

Actually, I was just wondering if I could speak to Cam...

Is he here?

Hey. Is everything okay?

Aw, did you get lost on your way back from the bathroom?

Which one? There are, like, five.

What's going on?

Do we have a seat for Sarah?

You know, actually, I don't mean to be rude, but I really need to talk to Cam.

Of course, you...

Sorry.

We'll be... right here.

Well...

She may not mean to be rude, but...

That was pretty damn rude.

I know.

I think I'm in love.

It's kind of hard to tell. The pic's pretty blurry.

If you had to make a guess.

Peter McBride? Verna McBride's husband?

I don't... I haven't seen him in years.

Not since I was a kid.

He skipped town right about the time your parents d*ed.

Where'd you find that?

I was going through the basement.

Found a bunch of old videos from my mom and dad.

Pretty X-rated stuff.

Oh... wow.

Peter McBride was in one... and a bunch of other people.

You didn't know about this, did you?

No!

What about your Dad? I mean, they were best friends.

You think this is connected to what happened?

Look, Sarah, I know you want to find out what happened to your mom and dad.

And why.

But like I said before...

Some things are better left... undisturbed.

There you are.

Sarah, I've been looking all over for you.

Where'd you go?

Sarah.

Babe! What is it? What happened?

I used to lie awake at night imagining my parents were still alive.

I came up with all these crazy scenarios.

Like, they were spies behind the iron curtain.

They were missionaries out saving the world.

Left me with my grandmother to keep me safe.

I never imagined that my dad was Larry Flynt, and my mom was Linda Lovelace.

I mean, listen... it's not a good thing, what you found out.

It's shocking and terrible, but...

What?

You wanted to know the truth. Now you do.

Your parents weren't fallen angels, but they weren't these innocent martyrs, either, you know.

They were weird, screwed-up, imperfect people.

Like the rest of us.

Home, at last.

You gonna be okay?

Yeah.

You know since this kid's gone missing, no one's heard from him.

Alison thinks it's gonna be front-page news.

So I got to go in for this all-nighter.

I get it.

Bye, babe.

You think I should go talk to her?

No, I think it can wait 'til tomorrow.

Yeah.

Love you.

Love you.

[Doorbell rings]

Go away!

[Doorbell rings twice]

Go away!

[Doorbell continues to ring]

If you keep messing with me, I'll call the cops!

Ah! No!

Ah!

No, please, no! Don't!

[Screaming]

No, please, please...

[Screaming]

No! Ah! Ah!

Mrs. McBride?

You all right?

Are you gonna open the door?

[Unlocking door]

Can I come in?

[Footsteps]

Mrs. McBride?

Are you okay?

Mrs. McBride?

[Ominous music]

Oh, my God...

No! No!

Where would you even get something like that?

Well, we are in the country, Mr. Bennett.

I wouldn't be surprised if we sold them in every supermarket or the corner store.

Dylan?

Sarah... Sarah... Hey.

Mrs. McBride...

She was upstairs, he cut off her hands!

You're safe, babe, you're safe.

It was him, okay? He k*lled her.

You... You said you saw the m*rder*r, did you recognize him?

Yes. He was The Executioner.

Not the same person who k*lled my parents, but someone dressed like him.

Can you give me a description of him?

You know what he looks like.

I need a report from you.

Long black robe down to his feet, a mask... or a hood, covering his face.

Dylan, it was him. I swear.

Sargent Henry... Sargent Henry.

Do you have a sec?

What is it, Marjorie?

Verna McBride.

We're all shocked. No one can believe it.

Yeah, it's a real tragedy. It's been a long night, so...

But... But is it true?

Was that the work of The Executioner?

Where the hell did you hear that?

Word gets around.

So do I.

Marjorie?

I think you should be a lot more concerned with Verna's loss than with rumors about how she may have d*ed.

Of course.

God rest her soul.

We need to dig up everything we can find on Verna McBride.

Her childhood, her marriage...

What she's been doing all alone in that house for the last 30 years, okay? Leave no stone unturned.

How's Sarah?

"How's Sarah?"

Are you asking out of concern, or for today's headline?

You want me to investigate the m*rder, fine.

Sarah is not the story. Period.

This isn't just a m*rder.

We have a copycat, and whether you like it or not, Sarah is at the center of this story.

And at the same time you get to sell a sh*t-ton of papers.

Are you scared?

I am scared.

You should be, too.

Thank you for coming.

I'm so sorry.

Thank you.

Hey.

Son, how are you?

I'm okay, Dad. How are you?

Well...

I promise you. We're gonna catch this guy.

I know. You have to.

We're all shocked by the m*rder of Verna McBride.

At times like this, it's easy to ask: How could a loving God allow this to happen?

But the m*rder of Verna McBride and of Rachel and Brian Ingram, these are not the works of God.

These are the works of men.

We're all born with fallen nature, one that loves sin and hates holiness.

Stretching all the way back to the original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, our first step away from God.

There is a void, in each of us, that we struggle to fill, but one that can only be filled by God.

By God's love. By God's light.

And our base desires stand in our way... and keep us from God's grace.

Keep us lonely, lost in the wilderness.

Buried in secrets.

Warping our good nature into something unrecognizable.

And there is only one way back to God, and that is by letting Him into your heart... and following His Word.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing.

Inwardly they are ravening wolves."

There is only one God.

And only one path to salvation.

Back already. Something happen?

You know what happened.

You behind this?

Is it the work of one of your protégés?

No.

Really?

Because he was dressed exactly the same way that you were dressed the night you m*rder*d my parents.

Don't tell me you didn't plan this.

I don't receive visitors here. Except for you.

And the occasional cop or lawyer. And of course my religious counsel.

What about e-mail? Regular mail?

I don't send mail.

Most of the mail I do get, I don't read.

Never had an e-mail account.

Warden can verify all this, if you don't believe me.

Then, who is behind this?

Who? I have no idea.

But I might be able to help you figure out why.

First question I'd ask is: Why did Verna McBride deserve to die?

She didn't.

Sarah... Sarah...

If you're gonna catch him, or her...

Who said anything about catching?

Then, you're gonna have to start thinking like him.

McBride d*ed for a reason. Why?

I don't know.

How did she die?

The newspapers said blood loss, but how, exactly?

He cut off her hands. And her feet.

Why would he do that?

'Cause he's crazy.

That's right, Sarah, get it all out of you.

All the judgment and all the righteousness, shake it out!

Now, put your emotions aside and get into the mind of this k*ller.

Cutting off limbs. Why?

Is it a punishment?

Like in Saudi Arabia, when you steal, they...

They just cut off hands, nothing else.

Still... What did she take?

Sarah?

Videotapes. Her husband... he was in some of them.

So, you found them.

You knew what they were doing?

But Verna McBride's sin wasn't greed or envy.

The punishment does not match the crime.

What are you talking about?

I'm talking about the punishment for the sin of anger, to be dismembered, alive.

This all goes back to the Bible.

The Bible... Dante...

Pope Gregory the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas.

Verna McBride paid the price of her sin with her life, so if I were you, I'd start looking there.

This person's following in your footsteps.

Finishing what you started.

Why would you want to help stop it?